Here is a University of Montana press release about the Indian Land Tenure Foundation “Lessons of our Land” speaker series:
MISSOULA – Land rights attorney Marcella Giles will give the next presentation in the “Lessons of Our Land: The Indian Land Tenure Foundation Speaker Series” at The University of Montana on Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Giles will address pertinent issues about trust land in Indian Country in her presentation titled “What Every Allottee Should Know” from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in Payne Family Native American Center Room 105. A reception will follow in the center’s Bonnie HeavyRunner Gathering Place. All speaker series events are free and open to the public.
Giles will tackle important questions that need to be asked about ownership and management of Indian trust land and offer guidelines about accepting payment from the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, considering each landowner’s unique situation.
A Muscogee Creek lawyer who specializes in protecting oil and gas leases, Giles works in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Indian Land Working Group and serves as attorney general for the Seminole and Creek Nations in Oklahoma. She said allotment policies dating to 1887 have left today’s landowner with obscure titles, deficient probates, lost records, unidentified parcels of restricted land, mineral-ownership chaos and other myriad problems.
“Lessons of Our Land” continues with presentations in March by Narcisse Blood, Cris Stainbrook, Elouise Cobell and Julie Cajune. A full series schedule and more information about speakers are available online at https://clients.loudskymedia.com/buffalosfire.com .
The Indian Land Tenure Foundation is a community-based, nonprofit organization focused on the recovery, management and control of American Indian lands by Indian people. For more information, visit http://iltf.org , call Jodi Rave at 406-396-8537 or e-mail jodi.rave@umontana.edu .